Chapter 40: Purge Begins

Spider-Man and Daredevil crouched on the rooftop, peering through a dusty glass panel into the warehouse below. The room was packed with criminals, businessmen, and at least three guys who definitely ran children's charities as a front for smuggling rocket launchers.

And then, he walked in. Wilson Fisk.

The Kingpin.

Large enough to block the sun. Rich enough to pay NASA to say he isn't. His presence sucked the air out of the room like Darth Vaders force choke, commanding silence.

Flanking him were two people who looked like they came straight out of a "DO NOT ENGAGE" manual.

Sabretooth, built like a walking bear attack with an attitude to match and Domino, a woman who radiated "Nah! I'd win" energy, like the universe itself was coded to roll natural 20s for her.

Kingpin took his time adjusting the cuffs of his massive, tailored suit before stepping onto the raised platform at the center of the room. When he spoke, his deep, rolling voice carried absolute authority.

"Gentlemen."

One word. Silence.

His next words were slow and deliberate, "I am taking over the whole city."

Spider-Man's muscles tensed. Oh, here we go.

"All the menaces… the ones with masks…"

Spidey turned his head towards Daredevil.

"…especially Spider-Man."

Daredevil smirked and turned his head toward Spidey.

I am going to web his face.

"And the menaces without the masks." Kingpin's gaze swept over the gathered businessmen. "Be normal." Then he turned to the shadier figures in the room. "The ones who deal in the dark…" His eyes landed on a few superpowered criminals. "And those who think their abilities put them above consequence."

He let those words sink in, drawing out the pause just long enough to make men sweat.

"The city will undergo a purge. "

A wave of tension spread through the crowd.

"For the next two days, all business, official or otherwise, will cease. All conflicts will pause. Just like today... and all of you… will comply."

His voice darkened.

"Or you will be dealt with."

Then, he gestured towards a man in a hood and skull mask.

"This is Taskmaster. He is here to handle the Spider problem."

Murmurs broke out. A few glances shot toward the masked mercenary, who simply rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles.

Kingpin took one step back.

"Dismissed."

With that, he turned and walked away, the room parting like the Red Sea.

Just as Spider-Man and Daredevil prepared to slip away, Sabretooth's eyes snapped up.

Right at the glass panel they were peeking through. For a long second that felt like an eternity passed... nothing. Then Sabretooth took a deep sniff.

Spider-Man and Daredevil? Already gone.

Daredevil landed on a fire escape and dropped into a shadowy alley, arms crossed as Spider-Man perched upside down from a lamppost.

"So," Daredevil started. "What's the plan now, Spider?"

"Simple," Spidey said, stretching his fingers. "Whatever Kingpin's planning? It's big. We stop it."

Daredevil nodded. "You got details?"

"I'll hack into every computer and phone in Fisk Tower, scan city cameras, and see if he's got an evil PowerPoint presentation lying around."

Daredevil raised an eyebrow, with a 'You for real, bro?' look.

"Trust me. Trust Spider-Man. Villains love PowerPoints. Bullet points, dramatic reveals, sometimes they even have transitions."

Daredevil sighed. "I'll alert my team in case we need backup."

"Good," Spidey said, giving him a thumbs up. "Take care, Devil."

"You too, Webhead."

As Daredevil turned to leave, Spider-Man tapped his mask.

"CELESTE?"

[Sir?]

Before he could respond, BOOM!!

An explosion rocked the city in the distance.

Daredevil turned around. "That sounded bad."

Spider-Man already had his web-shooters aimed. "I got this! Don't stop anywhere, we need more hands ASAP!"

With that, he slingshotted himself off the building and into the night.

Peter was on the way, swinging, running and jumping across the rooftops taking advantage of his speed, and physique. Using every shortcut to reach the explosion site as fast as possible. Halfway through his swing when his Spider-Sense screamed.

Surrounded. And a fast moving projectile from behind. Move!

Peter twisted midair, narrowly dodging the bullet. He landed on a rooftop, spun around and immediately had to duck as a massive clawed hand swiped at his head.

"Jeez! Ever heard of personal space?!"

Sabretooth stood there, fangs bared, claws ready, looking like an angry mountain lion in a trench coat.

Before Peter could even think of a comeback, another voice joined in.

"Don't worry," Taskmaster said, stepping onto the rooftop, sword in one hand, signature shield in the other. "Just a small clean-up job. Will be over.. soon."

A few feet away, Domino stood casually, guns drawn, looking way too smug for someone who just tried to shoot him in the head.

Peter sighed. "Oh great. An overgrown housecat, a bootleg Captain America, and Lady Luck. I feel so blessed right now."

["Explosion update: A masked individual in purple and black was seen leaving the scene. The explosion is only the beginning. Notifying Daredevil now."]

Peter's eyes narrowed. "Prowler," he muttered. "The purge... Fantastic. Because this night wasn't chaotic enough already."

Taskmaster wasted no time and lunged. Peter dodged his sword swipe, only for the guy's shield to come flying at him like a frisbee of doom. He ducked, flipped, and webbed a ledge to swing behind Taskmaster.

But Taskmaster barely moved his head.

Peter's foot hit nothing but air.

A second later, he felt a solid thunk against his chest as Taskmaster's boot slammed into him, knocking him backward.

Peter tumbled, landing flat on his back.

"Ow. That one's on me," he groaned. "Should've known better than to try fancy footwork on someone who moonlights as an evil dance instructor."

Taskmaster chuckled. "You fight like a kid with a YouTube tutorial."

"Bold words from a guy whose whole skillset is just monkey see, monkey do."

Sabretooth didn't wait for banter. He pounced.

Peter rolled out of the way before those claws turned him into Spider-Shishkabob.

"Okay, big guy, chill!" Peter flipped over another claw swipe. "Did someone forget to fill your food bowl this morning, or are you just naturally this cranky?"

Sabretooth lunged again. Peter ducked under his arms and webbed his face.

"No biting, big guy. This isn't kindergarten."

Domino took that moment to fire a shot. The bullet pinged off his mask, throwing him off for a split second.

"Ow! Seriously?" Peter yelled, rubbing his temple. "I swear, that felt personal."

"You shouldn't have dodged," Domino said with a smirk. "That shot was meant to miss."

Peter groaned. "Great. A sniper with bad luck powers and a sassy attitude. My favorite."

["Warning: The Skull Mask is analysing your movements."]

Peter sighed. "Alright, enough of this."

He inhaled deeply. Time to turn it up.

He sped up. Faster punches. Sharper kicks. A movement pattern Taskmaster had never seen before.

It wasn't just randomness or unpredictability. Deadpool had a good trick, sure. But it only worked once. The next time, Taskmaster improved, and Wade had to actually fight for it. He struggled and had to trade blows. After that? He never won again. Their score was 2-3 now, and Deadpool was on the losing side.

But this? This wasn't a gimmick. This was evolution. While Taskmaster was learning, Peter was adapting. Rapidly.

Taskmaster realized too late. "Plan changed. Team Retrea-". He couldn't even complete the sentence. One punch, too fast, too strong.

Peter's fist slammed into Taskmaster's jaw with enough force to dent his mask. The mercenary crumpled.

Spidey shifted his sights to the annoying shooter.

"Oh. Fuck!" Domino took off running.

Sabretooth growled and lunged.

Peter smirked. "Oh no you don't, Lady Luck."

Probability manipulation? Please. He had already adapted. Instead of making him immune to the minor reality manipulation, he was now an advanced, accurate, walking probability calculator. He could do that before, but it was something he never tried, or needed.

That's not much of an improvement.

This was more like the Darwin vs Hulk situation. Adaptation against the Hulk? Teleportation. Adaptation against probability manipulation? All he got was probability calculation.

Peter's mind worked like a supercomputer, calculating probabilities in real-time.

Ladder ahead. A 78.4% chance of bad luck if he avoided it out of superstition. Solution? Run straight under it. Zero risk, zero consequence.

Environmental hazard. Loose debris. Domino's probability manipulation could shift them into his path. 63.2% chance it suddenly fell right on his head. Adjust path 15 degrees to the left. Probability dropped to 4.7%.

Movement detected. A blur of black fur in his peripheral vision. A cat, moving left to right. If it crossed his path, subconscious hesitation could slow reaction time by 0.3 seconds. Unacceptable.

Peter leaped over the cat mid-sprint. "Nice try Diddy!"

His probability calculations were faster than luck itself.

She reached a fire escape, tried to climb, only to feel a THWIP! of webbing wrap around her ankle.

"Aw, c'mon!" she yelled.

"Sorry, luck ran out." Peter yanked her off balance, then knocked her out with a precise jab to the jaw.

Sabretooth was still coming.

"Okay, dude, seriously," Peter groaned, sidestepping. "Take the L. It's over."

Sabretooth swiped again. Peter ducked. A lamp post stood behind him.

Idea!

He shot a web, swung the lamp post around, and wrapped it around Sabretooth like a Christmas present.

"Stay put, buddy. Santa will be here soon."

["Enemies neutralized. Shall I notify the authorities?"]

"Sure. Now, let them marinate in their bad decisions, will add more flavour to the prison life."

Before Peter could breathe, CELESTE's voice chimed in again.

["Sir, New threats detected in the city."]

Peter sighed. "Oh boy. Hit me."

Peter's HUD lit up like a Christmas tree, except instead of presents, it was a whole lineup of bad guys. Electro. Shocker. Hobgoblin. Sandman. Scorpia. Mysterio. Vulture. Rhino. Beetle. All of them showing up across the city like it was some kind of villain convention.

[A/N: Scorpia and Beetle are female versions in this adaptation.]

As Peter scanned the chaos unfolding across the city, he groaned. "Did someone post a Craigslist ad for supervillains?'. No experience necessary'?"

These guys weren't even supposed to be active yet. First appearances? All of them? Tonight?

His stomach sank. Something is off.

Then more visuals popped up. The Marauders.

"Oh. Ohhh. Well, that explains it." He clenched his jaw. "Fucking Sinister."

CELESTE interrupted his spiraling thoughts. ["Sir, shall I contact Daredevil?"]

Peter let out the longest, most dramatic exhale possible. "Yeah. Tell him he might need more than just backup. He might need, like… an army. Or at least, I dunno, therapy after this."

As he was about to swing away, a thought hit him.

"Wait. Where are the Fantastic Four?"

["Sir. It seems they are not in the Baxter Building. In fact… they are not in New York at all."]

Peter narrowed his eyes. "Are they chilling somewhere, saying 'Not my movie, not my problem'?"

CELESTE paused. ["Possibly."]

Peter threw his hands up. "Great. Just great. Meanwhile, I'm out here in Avengers: Infinity War, and they're off in Ant-Man & The Wasp, ignoring the main plot."

No time to dwell. No rest for the wicked. And the Spider-Man.

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I've returned from the depths of hiatus, and I'm ready to balance the universe... or at least my fan-fic priorities. Hand over the Power Stones, and nobody gets hurt!

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